Welcome push on immigration

It has been more than 25 years since the last major change was made to U.S. immigration policy. Several all-out pushes for comprehensive reform, including one by President George W. Bush in 2007, have been choked off. We hope the latest attempt to come up with a plan that is palatable to both parties in Congress won't meet a similar fate. Reform is badly overdue.

A bipartisan group of senators has reached agreement on the broad outline of a plan that would provide a path to citizenship for an estimated 11 million illegal immigrants. On Tuesday, President Obama, who had failed to tackle the immigration issue in his first term in office, outlined his own plan for reform, which in many ways mirrors that of the senators'. And the House is reportedly developing its own reform plan, one that also would include a path to citizenship.

Under the senaators' plan, that path would only be implemented once the borders were secured and a better system for verifying the legal status of employees was put into place.

The senators say the path to citizenship would be difficult. It would not constitute amnesty. Those here illegally would have to pass background checks and pay fines and any unpaid taxes to qualify for a probationary status that would let them continue to live and work in the U.S. They would not be eligible for federal benefits, however, until they completed the process for permanent residency. They also would be required to get in line behind those who have already applied legally for a green card.

The senators' plan also calls for a crackdown on employers who hire illegal immigrants, and would award resident green cards to immigrants who obtain advanced degrees in science, math, technology or engineering from an American university. It also would allow more low-skill workers into the country, let employers hire immigrants if they could demonstrate there were no willing workers among U.S. citizens, and establish an agricultural worker program.

Obama's plan, which would require current undocumented immigrants to learn English, could include new penalties for businesses that knowingly hire undocumented immigrants.

As in the past, there will be groups and constituencies that will resist reforms. Some will insist that "amnesty" in any form will only encourage more illegal immigration. Others will oppose any bill requiring an electronic employment verification system, arguing it would violate employees' privacy and essentially constitute a national ID system.

While the broad outlines of reform are encouraging, there are dozens of details that need to resolved, many of which have stymied immigration reform in the past. This time, compromises must be made to fix a system that has been dysfunctional for far too long.

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Welcome push on immigration

It has been more than 25 years since the last major change was made to U.S. immigration policy.

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